Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton
February 29, 2008
Residents are sometimes confused by this, but the O’Fallon city government and O’Fallon’s school districts are completely separate jurisdictions. The school boards control the school buildings, property taxes, and educational curriculum. Their primary revenue sources are from a local property tax and the state, and they are regulated by the state. The City of O’Fallon has no role in these activities, other than to be a community partner and provide local services that encourage strong public education.
One area that caused us some concern is the safety of school buildings. We are happy to say that the City of O’Fallon and our local school districts have partnered to allow the City’s Building Inspectors to perform reviews and inspections on all new school construction. The City has experienced a significant amount of school construction recently, including:
1. Central School District Joe Arthur Middle School
2. District 90 Carriel Jr. High School
3. OTHS 9th Grade Center on Milburn School Road
4. District 90 renovation of the old police department for the district office
5. OTHS Smiley campus addition
Why is this important? While all residential and commercial construction in O’Fallon has always been subject to the City’s review and inspection, new school construction had previously been exempt from the local review and inspections and was solely the responsibility of the St. Clair County Regional School Superintendent’s Office. We felt this was a major safety concern in that our children were spending considerable time in buildings within a municipality without assurance that the buildings were constructed according to nationally recognized building codes.
While we don't believe that existing school buildings are unsafe, there were no checks and balances in the process for outside inspectors to monitor the design and construction of schools. In 2007, new state legislation was passed stating that if the municipality chooses to perform reviews and inspections, it must be done by inspectors and reviewers with a certain level of certifications and training (which O’Fallon inspectors have).
In the City of O’Fallon, all commercial building plans for structures over 4,000 square feet are sent to certified plan reviewers to make sure they comply with all safety standards and building codes. All schools fall under this requirement, so when the law became effective, we approached the schools to collaborate on the school construction. The school districts expressed their commitment to building the safest possible schools and enthusiastically agreed to the concept.
As the schools have been constructed, the cooperation between the City and school districts has been tremendous. In addition, the St. Clair County Regional School Superintendent’s Office has been instrumental in the success of this effort and they have worked closely with City inspectors. On the City side, Building Supervisor Jeff Stehman has smoothly coordinated the review and inspection process. The success of this effort has been a testament to what intergovernmental cooperation can do to build a better community and keep all of its residents safe, especially our youngest residents.
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